1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for determination and remediation of energy diversion in a power grid network; and more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determination and remediation of energy diversion in a smart power grid network.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
Proliferation of the “Internet of Things” (IoT) is driving interconnected smart systems. In particular, smart grids are following this trend though the establishment of smart energy, gas and water management. Interconnected components are now providing an unprecedented level of intelligence supporting numerous operational actions. This landscape is ushering in vast amounts of unstructured data and the need for intelligent data parsing, analysis and action systems.
It is estimated that in the United States and Canada alone, 1% to 2% of energy is purposely diverted by customers in the form of theft or line loss, accounting for nearly $6 billion in unrealized revenue. The purposeful diversion of energy is an even greater issue in developing regions with some estimates defining approximately $47 billion in unrealized revenue in these regions. Globally, estimates define approximately $202 billion in unrealized revenue due to purposeful diversion of energy.
One solution that has been presented to address the problem of purposeful energy diversion is to build a tamper switch mechanism into a home or commercial electric meter. The tamper switch triggers an alarm in the event that a meter has been tampered with by an end user, which can identify a possible energy theft occurrence. However, in practice, the tamper switches are unreliable. For example, some tamper switches may be frequently dislodged or moved inadvertently by the end user or an object coming into contact with the electric meter, which causes false alarms. As a result of the frequency of the false alarms, alarms generated by tamper switches are frequently ignored by utility operators, frustrating the entire purpose of the tamper switch.
What is needed is a reliable solution that allows detecting an occurrence of energy diversion with reliability that cannot be manipulated by the end user or subject to false triggering.